Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-07-02


Geronimo is a notable precedent. This chief
| tain, with at least forty warriors. including
a few boys AMI a couple Of SlUaws, held
Sonora and New Mexico in a state of siege
| for nearly wear With only three battaI-
ions Of cavalry and six companies of infant
~, and with the support Of meager brig
ade of the Mexican army, we successfully
prevented his invasion of the north. and
when finally ne ran out Of ammunition and
surrendered, we We're almost rble to guard
him back to the reservation. and would have
done so had he not rutheSsly broken away.
The good old DAYS, when territorial
sportsman could go out any fine, clear morn
ing and kill half dozen Indians before
breakfast, have passed away. lt is now the
policy of the government TO conduct an In
dian war without biOolShed. and of late
wears the effort has been entirely succcsSfuI
The only question OF moment il th. one Of
expense. There ar. thoughtful statesmen
who contend that to eNpend S2,DU0. .OtG and "A
years time to capture forty Indians who
would not bring a dollar and a half apiece at
a sheritfs sale Is unnecessary and wasteful
On the other hand a TOO rigid economy
might result in the indians remaining per
msnently at large, and respectable citizens
thereby lose their hair and become humoT-
lists, wandering north in great and deStruc-
tive numbers to the terror of the inhabitants
The real cauSe Of the prolnngation Of New
Mexican campaigns Is the inability of officers
TO sit quietly down and map out the expe,li-
ton ia accordance with the rules of war
With large family Of red ants in the front
parlor, Il horned toad on the window sill
catching tii,->, cenIil.,le in hiS left boot and
the uncertainty aS to whether il is tarin.
tula or "a scorpion he feels on The back of his
neck, the commanding Off er is in doubt
whether TO send for a case Of paris green or
a dose of bromide, and the tactical portion
of his meditation naturally suffers. Then
the constant necessity of keeping the bed
posts deluged with kerosene Is apt TO make
generals calculations 90 wrong, and have
known the simple presence of vigorous rat
tlesnske behind the post commanders trunk
to break up his entire plan for a battle
The climate l. also somewhat prejudicial to
military discipline and maneuvers. New
Mexican hens Law hard boiled eggs all
through the summer, and in midwinter the
post trader cuts whisky with a buzz saw.
There is more solid and substantial climate
in one New Mexican day than can be found
elsewhere in a year, aud for an energetic off
Ger To find his pack mules and bacon fried
together at the end OF IA march is dishearten-
ing
Perhaps through desire TO cater to the
taste of the inhabitants nature has given
New Mexico very little water. The rivers
exist on the map. with the exception Of the
Rio Grande, which occasionally has water
enough III its course TO lay the dust. A
spring" is 10 be found here and there, loaded
with alkaii, epsom salts and green scum, with
an occasional coyote mired in the center to
give it a favor.
The fauna OF New Mexico are few but of
interest. Beside sixteen varieties of rattle
snake, twenty one of horned toad and forty
two Of lizard, there is the coyote and the
greaser. The greaser is wealther than the
coyote have known an opulent greaser TO
possess two strings of red peppers, bushel Of
corn, peck of onions and seven dogs. One
greaser, who lived near Fort McRae, was the
Vanderbilt of the section. He had nine dogs
The coyote is so poor he cannot even afford
to keep heas.
The coyote is superior TO the greaser in that
he sings Shortly after midnight | have
known officers who had but an Indifferent ear
for music to lie awake for hours listening to
q chorus Of coyotes, and expressing their
opinion in the strongest terms. A coyote
sings every night when he has no supper, and
he gets supper about once year when he is
in luck
have suggestion TO submit to Mr. Endi-